Nearby Theaters

The Empire Theatre was built in 1922 for vaudeville and was designed by architectural firm Walker & Eisen. Alterations were made in 1924 to the plans of architect H.L. Gogerty and it was renamed Mission Theatre and was converted to motion pictures. The theatre was on American Avenue, which later became Long Beach Boulevard.

In 1929 it was renamed Major Theatre, and later became the Long Beach Theatre, operated by Fox West Coast Theatres by 1941.

Plans for a new theater on American Avenue at the corner of Bunce Avenue (actually called Bunce Way, which was an alley half a block north of Ocean Avenue) were announced in the June 11, 1920 issue of Southwest Builder & Contractor. It was being designed by the firm of Walker & Eisen. Early references to this theater in the L.A. Library’s California Index call it either the Empire Theatre (apparently its opening name) or the Mission Theatre (on cards citing articles from 1924 about an enlargement of the stage and proscenium, with plans by Long Beach architect H.L. Gogerty.)

According to Mr. David L. Junchen’s “Encyclopedia of the American Theatre Organ”, pg. 628, the Mission Theatre in Long Beach had a Smith theatre pipe organ installed at one time. Mr. Junchen’s Smith opus list gives no details as to exact nature of this organ, how many manuals, ranks, what the blower serial # was, or what year it was installed. Anybody know where it is now?

This page is still missing the architects (Walker & Eisen, 1922, and alterations by H. L. Gogerty, 1924) as well as the aka’s: Empire Theatre (opening name) Mission Theatre, (by 1924) and Major Theatre (around 1929, according to Bill Counter’s page about it.) Counter also notes that in later years the house was advertised as the Fox Long Beach Theatre.

I don’t know why completion of the Empire Theatre was delayed until 1922. The July 14, 1920, issue of Building & Engineering News carried this notice that the contracts for construction of the project had been let: